Any trades involving players competing at the world junior championship tournament are only made official once the tournament is over.

“Drake is going after a gold medal with Team Canada. We hope that Team Canada brings it back and we hope Drake is part of it,” said Screaming Eagles head coach and general manager Marc-André Dumont when asked about the reports.

“Right now, that’s the focus that he’s got to have and we’re supporting him in that.”

Batherson, a fourth-round pick of the Ottawa Senators in the 2017 NHL draft, has 17 goals and 22 assists for 39 points in 24 games. The 19-year-old didn’t crack the team’s roster full-time until last year, when he had a breakout campaign with 58 points (22 goals, 36 assists) in 61 games. The 6-2, 188-pound forward had 12 points (seven goals, five assists) in 11 playoff games last season.

Batherson is also a former Valley Wildcat, where he played his first season of junior hockey before being called up to the QMJHL.

The Armada (25-8-2-0) have the second-best record in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The Screaming Eagles (17-18-2-1) are in 13th place.

If the deal with the Armada goes through, it will be a bit of déjà vu for the Screaming Eagles. Last year, they traded another world junior player, Pierre-Luc Dubois, to the Armada following the tournament.